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The Banewarrens, Part 4

Players/Characters Present:
John Sikking - Basil Amantes (Ftr7)
Bruce Barnett - Bonzimir Amantes (Rog4/Hlf3)
Barbara Muth - Nereida Amantes (Clr7) and Elida (KSK4)
Chris Wood - Felix Amantes (Psi7)
Peter Drake - Demetrios Amantes (Wiz4/Hum3)

Photos of the game can be found here: Banewarrens Photos

The Company of the Starborn returned to the surface with the bodies of Kalerecent and Rsanir tucked away in their Bag of Holding.  They took the deceased paladin and his cohort to the Chapel of St. Gesius in the Maze and broke the grievous news to Brother Fabitor, who took the loss of his friend quite hard. 

En route, the Company had agreed that they all felt somewhat responsible for the duo's death, and they determined to refuse Brother Fabitor's offered reward, instead urging him to put the funds toward the cost of having the paladin and monk raised from the dead.  When they told this to Fabitor, he was startled by their selfless generosity and blessed them for it.  He promised to report to the Church hierarchy and get back to them. 

From there, the Company made its way to the Ghostly Minstrel, where they left a note for Flavia Brassus, asking her to meet them that night.  They also cautioned Olivia the barmaid to be cautious of any strangers asking after them (they had become justifiably paranoid after the incident with the Chaositech assassins).  Then, they went home to rest.

That evening, a knock on their door turned out to be Brother Fabitor, who had come to deliver a summons to the Great Cathedral, where leaders of the Great Church were convening a council to discuss the Banewarrens situation.  The Company was eager to attend, and not long later found themselves seated in an audience hall before a council comprised of their friend, Sister Donna Mara, Mirror Master Terestir Malacon, Brother Heth Neferul (chaplain of St. Thessina's), Sister Daliana, and Brother Tobias, who seemed to be the senior priest present. 

After questioning the Starborn about their knowledge of and experience with the Banewarrens, the Council acknowledged that Kalerecent and Rsanir had been returned to life that day.  Those two were summoned and their story supported what the Starborn had to say. Kalerecent was able to add that he and Rsanir had come upon the Grailquest Team (though he didn't know them by that name) and that it included not only the minotaur and two lamias, but a giant hag of a woman with green skin and long claws.  The monsters were engaged in a ritual in front of the Sealed Door which Kalerecent and Rsanir had disrupted.  Despite their best efforts, however, the hag had managed to open and slip through the Sealed Door.

The Council was quite concerned about this monstrous invasion of the ancient storehouse of evil.  Some, like Sister Daliana, urged that the whole complex should be walled off. Sister Donna Mara wanted the Starborn to discover the means of sealing the complex forever, while Brother Tobias seemed equally interested in re-discovering the magic used to seal off the Banewarrens, in hopes of using it to seal away certain other relics the Great Church had acquired over the centuries.  All agreed that the Great Machine was necessary to seal the Banewarrens, and that the secrets to its completion lay deeper within the complex.

Brother Heth surprised the Council by having a prepared plan of action.  He presented the Starborn with a scroll of the powerful spell legend lore which, if read near the Sealed Door, might reveal something about how it was sealed and how it might be passed.  The team agreed to use it the next morning.  Kalerecent and Rsanir bravely offered to join them, and to stand watch over the Banewarrens entrance.  Brother Tobias strongly urged the Starborn to limit their discussion of the Banewarrens only to those present in the room.  Thinking of Flavia Brassus and the Inverted Pyramid, Nereida said that they would limit their discussions to those who already knew of it.

From there, the Starborn went to the Ghostly Minstrel, where they met with Flavia and told her of the Church Council and the decision to delve deeper into the Banewarrens.  Flavia was unhappy with the deepening Church involvement, but accepted that it had to be the case, and urged the Starborn to discuss the results of the legend lore with Professor Herminius.

That night, the Company of the Starborn tried to locate the Thought Stalker by going to its last reported position, known as Emperor's Park.  They spent a fruitless night amidst the trees of the park, and later learned that the Thought Stalker had murdered two vagrants living under a large bridge in the midst of the city. 

The next morning, the team bought a hearty meal and brought it down into the Banewarrens to share with Kalerecent and Rsanir.  The meal finished, Demetrios proceeded to read the legend lore scroll near the Sealed Door.  For more than half an hour, the others watched as the wizard paced in front of the large portal, mumbling to himself.  Bonzimir and Rsanir amused themselves by pitching cards. 

At last, Demetrios turned to face his siblings and, with glassy eyes and a voice not entirely his own, intoned the following words, while the others quickly jotted down his words:

For a moment's entry, and no more
A simple Wish may pass the ward
Set upon this enchanted door.

But ancient magic and holy decree
Can be undone by long lost key
Found in Echoriath by the sea.

They who have it, know it not
Just an oddity they bought
A Relic of a time forgot.

A house ignoble but in name
Crafty players of the game
Barely hide their ancient shame.

Leaving the monk and paladin behind, the Starborn returned to the surface discussing the possible meanings.  They were fairly sure that the "house ignoble" was House Vitellius, but wanted to verify that to be sure they weren't letting their dislike of that color their judgment.  Therefore, after they returned to the Great Church and told the council members the result of the legend lore, (and were given a stipend for research equal to the previously-refused reward), they traveled to see the sage Herminius at the University.  They asked him to research the key, and to determine which of the great houses might be hiding an "ancient shame."  They also asked him to find out whatever he could about this "Grail" the Pactlords were after and anything he could tell them about a group known as the Inverted Pyramid. Herminius, a normally irascible old man, was in his element with these arcane questions, and shooed the youngsters out of his study so that he could begin.

After a long rest, the Company again set out by night to track down the Thought Stalker, which by now had killed a student in the Groves, the neighborhood near the University.  Unsure of where to look, they decided that they needed inspiration, and sacrificed at the temple of Ilion, goddess of Freedom, Madness and Inspiration.  Choosing to stake out the Necropolis by night, they saw no signs of either the Thought Stalker nor anyone morbid enough to want to spend the night in a huge graveyard, and so they spent another uncomfortable night under the stars.

After checking in with Kalerecent and Rsanir (who had seen no signs of activity), they Starborn returned home for a long rest.  By midday, they received word from Professor Herminius that he wanted to see them.  Once they arrived at the University, it was apparent that the good professor had stayed up all night researching amidst the University's large library with a small team of dragooned students fetching him materials.  Herminius had found an ancient book that claimed that the Vitellius family traced its ancestry back beyond the founding of the Empire, back to a demonic ancestor - an ancient shame.  Moreover, Herminius had found another old book that contained a version of the history of the Banewarrens, and it said that only the touch of Danar could open the sealed areas of the Banewarrens.  Third, Herminius had searched for mention of the Vitellius family among the University's copies of the city's transactional records and found a note in the margin of a ledger which showed that, 122 years before, they had purchased a lot at auction which contained some rare works of art.  Among these was a strange, mummified hand.

The Starborn were immediately convinced that their gut reaction had been right.  Vitellius had the key, which was the Hand of Danar, and didn't even know it!  On the spot they determined that they must steal it before the new interest in the Banewarrens and Vitellius's apparent interest in the Starborn alerted the noble house to what they possessed.  Herminius mentioned that he was aware of one person who might be able to help them, a Knight of the Chord named Nicalon Regelis.

The Knights of the Chord are a small knightly order dedicated to the god of Travel, Music and the Arts, Eristemus.  Nicalon Regelis is a Knight of the Chord with some small repute as a foe of the machinations of House Vitellius.  It is rumored, Herminius said, that Nicalon had once been a prisoner of Vitellus.

They left Herminius with his research and went to find Nicalon.  Traveling to the Ways of Eristemus, the Starborn were stopped in by a priest of Valkrys, the gentle goddess of Wisdom and Healing.  The man introduced himself as Danneth Sonnel, a caretaker at the Asylum, a place of healing and care for the mad, located in the heart of the Maze.  He told them that a patient, an elf named Tabaen Farsong had asked to see them.  Tabaen had been driven mad by the recent appearance of the Avatar of Chaos, and had been babbling and attempting to claw his own eyes out until last night, when he very clearly told Danneth where to find the Starborn this morning and that he had to speak to them.  Intrigued, and recalling their own visit to the temple of Ilion the night before, the Starborn agreed to go to the Asylum right after they spoke to the Knights of the Chord.

In the Templehall practice yard, they watched Galintes, Master of the Knights of the Chord, sparring with a young novice.  Later, they asked the Knight about Nicalon Regelis and learned that Nicalon was a wanderer who traveled much and was only present at the Templehall from time to time, but offered to get a message to him.  They agreed, thanked the Knight and left, heading to the Asylum.

Once at the Asylum, they met with poor, mad Tabaen, who babbled on about the need to find the key, saying "A key. A key. You know the door. The key is deep under Vitellius.  You have to get it. You have to get in to keep people out. Many dangers. So many evils. The key is a hand. You must use it so that they cannot. Use it to find the staff that will destroy it. A key that is a hand and a staff that is a knife." Feigning ignorance of what the mad elf meant, they left, and returned home. 

That evening, as they were having dinner at the Ghostly Minstrel, they were approached by a man of knightly bearing who introduced himself as Nicalon.  After the introductions were made, the group moved into one of the Minstrel's back rooms.  The Starborn revealed that they were foes of House Vitellius and that they needed to steal something important hidden below the Vitellius manor, something even the owners did not suspect they had.  After some hemming and hawing, they revealed that it was a key that looked like a mummified hand, and that they were in league with the Great Church.  They did not say that they key lead into the Banewarrens.  Thus, they technically kept their promise to Brother Tobias.

Revealing that Vitellius liked to capture or buy slaves and abuse them terribly, Nicalon also revealed that his own parents had been among those killed by them.  He himself had once been a prisoner in the Vitellius dungeons, but using the power of a Knight of the Chord, had been able to charm and overcome a guard then make his way out, and had been their enemy ever since.  Thus, he knew the secret way into the Vitellius dungeons.  The Knight of the Chord
explained to them the three major figures of House Vitellius, noting that the patriarch, Iristul, had been away for some time, and that the eldest son, Alistair, was a powerful wizard, but lacking in ambition, dangerous only if pressed.  The daughter was Navanna, and she was the most dangerous of the three, being beautiful, wicked, and very capable.  Nicalon had no doubt that it was she who had sent the chaositech assassins after the Starborn as a matter of honor for the killing of her cousin, Lucius, but he doubted that she would send more.  They were too precious, and honor had been satisfied.

Nicalon agreed to work with the Starborn, insisting only that everything be done to prevent killing innocents, and that the raid not turn into a general robbery of the House.  They agreed and laid out a plan.  The group would approach the Vitellius manor by sea the following night, scaling the cliff by means of Fly spells and quieted by a silence spell.  Nicalon would then exit the silence and use his magic whistle to put the Vitellius dogs to sleep.  He would further dispel the magical alarms on the library windows to allow them access.  The plan set, they parted from Nicalon, who agreed to use their money to purchase a suitable boat.

The party later met with Flavia, who expressed concern that the whole affair seemed too coincidental.  The key to the Banewarrens was in the hands of the very house whose relative they had killed, and whose scion had tried to have them assassinated?  And now they had found just the person who knew the route into Vitellius's vaults?  However, the Starborn expressed a conviction that they had been touched by the gods since birth, and that it might well be that they were doing the gods' will.  Flavia said that she envied their faith, and wished she could share it.  After that, the Starborn went home to sleep and memorize the spells necessary for the break-in.

The following night (now the fifth since their fight with the Grail Quest Team and their first encounter with the Thought Stalker), they met Nicalon and followed the plan, which went off perfectly.  Their silent flight delivered them to the library door, where Nicalon disarmed the alarm and then revealed the secret passage in the floor.  Nereida's Detect Objects spell located the mummified hand off to the Northeast, while Bonzimir found each of the dart traps hidden in the floor of the hall leading to the storage chamber, and managed to disarm the deadly trap on the door.  Inside, they found the chest containing valuable works of art, much gold and the mummified hand. As they agreed, they took only the hand.

Where is the Thought Stalker, and how can it be found?

Was the message of Tabaen Farsong a message from Ilion, or mere coincidence?

What is the Staff that is a Knife?

Will the mummified hand really open the Sealed Door?

What lies beyond the Sealed Door?

Will the Pactlords be back?  If so, when?

Tune in next time!

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